Aggies’ opener postponed until Oct. 13 because of Isaac

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M’s most interesting season in memory just received an added twist. Louisiana Tech officials, in citing the safety of fans and student-athletes, have postponed the Bulldogs’ scheduled Thursday night game with the Aggies until Oct. 13.

Both programs had that Saturday off. The Aggies and Bulldogs were slated to kickoff 6:30 p.m. Thursday night in Shreveport’s Independence Stadium. The postponement is because of Hurricane Isaac, currently moving on to the Louisiana coast.

“Our primary concern was for the health and safety of the general public, students and fans of both institutions,” Bulldogs athletic director Bruce Van De Velde said. “It’s impossible to predict exactly what is going to happen throughout the state so we also wanted to be conscientious of the possible effects of this storm on residents throughout Louisiana.

“As much as both teams wanted to play, the safety of everyone took precedent over a football game, even one of this magnitude. We simply couldn’t move forward with Thursday’s kickoff in good conscience knowing what this storm may do.”

A&M will now play 12 consecutive games in its first season in the Southeastern Conference. With the change the Aggies’ opener with a new coaching staff and a new quarterback is suddenly a whopper: On Sept. 8 against Florida in Kyle Field, a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.

Kevin Sumlin is in his first year of coaching A&M, and he recently named freshman Johnny Manziel his starting quarterback. The Aggies will now play five of six games on the road in one stretch later in the season with the schedule switch.

A&M starts that run on Oct. 6 at Ole Miss, follows with the Louisiana Tech game, returns to Kyle Field for LSU and then hits the road for Auburn, Mississippi State and Alabama. Louisiana Tech will now open its season at Houston on Sept. 8.